Simona Obholzer’s works challenge visitors to perceive themselves as viewers and to challenge the conditioning of their own gaze. In this way, the artist examines how image, body, space and gaze relate to each other. The human body is both the starting point and target of the viewing. Constructed nature is a central motif of her installations, in which Obholzer playfully and reflexively calls into question familiar ways of seeing. Through reduction and abstraction, she reveals invisible structures of perception, raising questions about the way images are recognised and experienced in context. From gently swaying works on paper in space to video projections of moving lawns, movement as an abstract principle runs through her works. These she executes using various media, formats and techniques.
Simona Obholzer is planning an immersive spatial installation for the Kunsthaus Graz, in which she explores the theme of the ground as a fundamental subsurface. It thus ties in with her Diagonale award-winning film DIN 18035. The installation contains an interface to virtual space that opens up new perspectives on the physical dimensions of the ground. A sound layer intensifies the sensory experience and appeals to the visitors’ awareness of their bodies, enabling them to experience the installation standing, sitting or lying down.